A lot of you have expressed interest in seeing a quick tutorial on how I use my Samsung ATIV 500T tablet with Photoshop.

Over the past few weeks since getting the tablet, I’ve really started loving it. Not only because it’s super portable, but also because it runs full Windows 8. It’s 1/3 the size of my laptop too… ah the power of an Intel Atom Processor.

On paper, the specs of my tablet aren’t the most ideal for running a heavy Photoshop workflow. After lots of trial however, I’m actually really satisfied with the edits I can get out of it. In fact, after a few tweaks in my habits my photos are coming out on par to those I edit on my laptop. This is great since I now have been bringing my tablet around steady and leaving the heavier alternative at home.

Aside from its size, the tablet has another aspect that makes it a stellar choice for my type of work – the S-Pen. The fact that I can detail edits right on the screen is a huge advantage.

Not too long ago, I covered the Silverstein concert when they came to Toronto. Below is one of my favourite shots – edited on my tablet. This only took me 10 minutes.

Here’s my Photoshop CS6 workflow in case you’re curious:

1. Ran DFINE NIK Plugin for Photoshop to reduce noise (grainyness) as much as possible

If you don’t have DFINE, running the built-in ‘Noise Reduction’ function in CS6 works well too.

2. Adjusted black, grey, white levels

3. Used ‘Spot Healing Brush’ and dabbed out any free-floating specs in the image

When you’re in a grungy concert hall, there’s a lot of dust flying through the air at any given time.